Officials: Rare Florida panther struck and killed

Tuesday

Dec 11, 2012 at 11:45 AM

Florida wildlife officials believe a rare Florida panther was struck and killed by a vehicle in east Orange County near Christmas on Sunday night.

Florida wildlife officials believe a rare Florida panther was struck and killed by a vehicle in east Orange County near Christmas on Sunday night.An autopsy, conducted Tuesday, concluded the animal was a young panther, approximately three-years old, believed to be a male. The panther was hit by a double tractor trailer Sunday night on State Road 520, near its intersection with State Road 528, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.A biologist retrieved the badly damaged carcass, but was not immediately able to determine the sex. If the animal is confirmed to be a panther, it would be the 17th killed by a vehicle this year, nearly double the nine killed in collisions last year. So far this year, 25 panther deaths have been confirmed in Florida.The endangered Florida panther has been growing in number since the 1980s, when its numbers dwindled to 20 to 30 in South Florida. The current estimated panther population is between 100 and 160 adults and sub-adults.Most panthers live in Southwest Florida, south of the Caloosahatchee River, but an increasing number of male panthers have roamed north into Central Florida, including occasional sightings in Volusia and Flagler counties and as far north as Central Georgia.The wildlife commission has recently added a website for people to report panther sightings and photos: https://Public.MyFWC.com/hsc/PantherSightings/Dead or injured panthers can be reported by calling the commission's wildlife alert hotline at 888-404-3922 or text tip@myfwc.comFor more information on Florida panthers, go to www.floridapanthernet.org.